NYRB II finish up homestand with visit from Birmingham Legion FC

After bouncing back against Indy Eleven on Sunday, New York Red Bulls II will round out their homestand against Birmingham Legion FC on Wednesday.

The baby bulls have won 2 out of their 3 home games, with their only loss coming against Loudoun United two weeks ago. Despite another quick turnaround on Wednesday, NYRB II manager John Wolyniec continues to express his confidence in the depth of his team.

“We’ve got a number of guys that can contribute,” Wolyniec said. “We showed in the last stretch where we rotated some guys that maybe aren’t starters all the time. (They) can come in and still do the job in a good way and we feel real confident in a lot of players. Obviously they’ll be some changes and we’ll see who gets rolled out for Wednesday, but we’ll go after it in a good way. “

These two teams met a few weeks ago and NYRB II took a 1-0 lead early in the first half. However, inclement weather suspended the match, and rescheduled it later in the season. Tom Barlow scored against Birmingham before officials abandoned the match, and looks forward to facing Birmingham a second time.

“We want that game back,” Barlow said. “Obviously, they rescheduled (it) for October, but we’re happy that they’re coming up here and we’re ready to play a full 90.”

Barlow continued to build on his hot start as he scored the game winner against Indy on Sunday. He also set up teammate Vincent Bezecourt and the midfielder drew the penalty which Jared Stroud put away to tie the game.

Despite dropping their first two games to open the season, Birmingham comes into the game on Wednesday unbeaten in their last 4 with some impressive results. During their streak they have beaten defending champions Louisville City and Saint Louis who currently sits atop the Eastern Conference. Both of those games were on the road too, which makes those wins even more impressive.

Wolyniec knows that Birmingham is a good team, but still expects his players to be ready for the challenge they present.

” We know Birmingham’s good team,” Wolyniec said. “They have some good players and our little taste down there was pretty good for us, but it’s a different time in a different place so we’ll have to rally and be ready to go.”